Ahead of the ECOWAS-ECCAS Summit, The Tectonic Plates are Turning in West and Central Africa
Back in 2012, my piece " Towards an ECOWAS-ECCAS Collaborative Framework " was audacious in calling for both West and Central Africa to come together. I cited maritime piracy, and the fight against Boko Haram as some of the reasons why it made sense the two regions come together. Now, six years later, the duty-bearers in these two regions have finally seen the light and decided to hold a joint summit. In 2017, the AU's Department of Political Affairs organised its annual Regional Youth Consultation at the ECOWAS Commission in Abuja , bringing together youth from both West and Central Africa in recognition of the fact that the two regions needed to have important conversations together to fight common threats and challenges. That the meeting is taking place at a time when West Africa faces threats of terrorism from Boko Haram, and the insurgency around the Sahel, for which reason the G5 Sahel group was established, makes for very interesting times. The 14 June signi...